Madoc Guitars Wyre Semi Hollow review – “wannabe alt-rock guitar heroes will be in heaven with this thing”
From £1,800 (£2,200 as reviewed), madocguitars.com
All the way back in 2012, I reviewed the Fender FSR Thinline Jaguar for this very publication. It was gorgeous, and left me asking myself why there weren’t more offset-type guitars with semi-acoustic bodies.
READ MORE: Eastman Fullertone Offset ’62 review – “it has a unique sonic voice and retro feel all of its own”
Now I’m reviewing the Madoc Guitars Wyre Semi Hollow, it’s even more gorgeous, and I’m no longer asking myself that question – I’m yelling it at the sky like a maniac demanding answers from God.
Strictly speaking, this isn’t even an offset – the waist of the body is more or less symmetrical, rather than being swept forward on the top side like a Jaguar or Jazzmaster – but it is a two-pickup guitar with Fender-style construction and a Mastery vibrato, so that’ll do for me.
What really matters, semantics aside, is the ‘even more gorgeous’ bit – because that’s pretty good going for a new UK maker that most people have probably never heard of.
Image: Adam Gasson
Madoc Guitars Wyre Semi Hollow – what is it?
Come with me to the beautiful English county of Worcestershire, famed for its gently rolling hills and unpronounceable (if you’re American) sauce. This is where Luke Roberts builds his guitars under the Madoc name.
The Wyre is his only model for now, but it’s all about custom orders and the spec options are wide open – starting at an undeniably reasonable £1,500 for a one-pickup solidbody with a hardtail bridge.
Not everyone is going to love the distinctive body shape, which has a hint of “Look what the shark did to my surfboard”, but I find it strangely appealing… aided by the fact that my review instrument is finished in the king of all guitar colours: burgundy mist.
That’s just the ash top, though – the sides and back of the chambered mahogany body have been left with a natural oiled finish, along with the roasted maple neck. Completing the main specs in timber terms is an unbound ebony fretboard with a 25.5-inch scale and 12-inch radius.
But it’s in the hardware that this premium-specced sample really stands out – the Mastery tailpiece/bridge combo is a mighty expensive indulgence, adding £400 to the price. Still, it is a proven game changer in terms of tuning stability and reliability.
And that just leaves the pickups, which have the unmistakable look of Filter’Tron types. These are made by Manchester-based Green Pickups – another fairly new name but already one with a certain amount of pedigree, as the Tele pups fitted to the Ancoats Granada I reviewed last year were excellent. These humbuckers promise “definition, dynamics, and that classic Gretsch sparkle” – and who doesn’t want that?
Image: Adam Gasson
Madoc Guitars Wyre Semi Hollow – build and playability
One spec detail I didn’t mention above is the compound neck profile: the Madoc site says it morphs from a modern V at the 1st fret to a modern C at the 12th. The effect is subtle, but what you’re getting is a moderately rounded neck that feels slimmer on the upper frets even though it isn’t.
That might be one reason why this guitar is so luxuriously playable; the other is its impeccably high standard of fret work and general build quality.
There are a couple of cosmetic details that could be considered imperfections – a visible join in the binding just above the bridge pickup, and a headstock decal that looks greyly opaque when it catches the light – but you might just as easily call those evidence of authentic artisan construction.
The important thing is that it’s a pleasure to hold and even more of a pleasure to play. Now all it needs to do is sound good.
Image: Adam Gasson
Madoc Guitars Wyre Semi Hollow – sounds
There are two build factors pulling this guitar in opposite tonal directions: on the one hand, you’ve got the inefficient bridge design that gives offsets their fast, twinkly response; and on the other, you’ve got a semi-hollow body slowing everything down and adding airy warmth.
I’m pretty sure that combination was the secret of the Thinline Jaguar, and here the longer scale length and beefier pickups just make the tone even fuller and smoother.
Mind you, ‘smooth’ is hardly the word for the bridge pickup through a clean amp. I’ve got a Godin hollowbody with TV Jones Filter’Trons and the Wyre actually out-twangs it – the tone is unashamedly bright, with oodles of surfy character.
The neck pickup, in contrast, is pure jazz – albeit still with more treble than most humbuckers in this position – while the middle setting does a sterling job of combining the best of both, and sweetens the whole thing up with some classic phasey chime. The responsiveness to playing dynamics, with either pickup or both, is sublime.
The tone control doesn’t do much until it’s down to at least halfway – which is about as close to a disappointment as I can find in this guitar – but not to worry, because knocking back the volume a notch or two instead is extremely effective at softening down the edges when required.
That’s unlikely to be on your mind once you stomp on the nearest overdrive pedal, though: with high gain, that trebly response translates to a nicely articulate attack for expressive lead work… which is made all the more appealing by the speedy smoothness of the neck.
And of course, a chambered body with humbuckers plus a supremely well-behaved whammy bar is the perfect recipe for controlled feedback. Wannabe alt-rock guitar heroes will be in heaven with this thing – and yes, that is coming from a wannabe alt-rock guitar hero.
Image: Adam Gasson
Madoc Guitars Wyre Semi Hollow – should I buy it?
For readers in the UK at least, it’s hard to think of many reasons not to buy a Wyre Semi Hollow – because even if there’s something about the specifications of this one that you don’t like, all you have to do is change it.
Personally I’d love to try a guitar exactly like this – including the burgundy mist finish, obviously – but with slightly less feisty pickups.
If the price is out of your range, the hardtail and solidbody options will bring it down… but then you’re talking about a quite different guitar. Mind you, if all Madocs are put together as well as this example, then you’re still going to be getting a pretty fantastic instrument.
Image: Adam Gasson
Madoc Guitars Wyre Semi Hollow – alternatives
You’ll notice that the prices below all start with the word ‘from’ – bear in mind that the numbers will go up once you specify semi-hollow construction and a whammy bar. British alternatives include the Trent Model 1 (from £2,095) and Ancoats NQ (from £1,099), while a highly rated American contender is the Jennings Voyager (from $2,845/£2,399). Or you could just go for a factory standard model like the Duesenberg Starplayer TV (€2,599/£2,399).
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
